


Pearl, not pearl.

by marauding_bagel



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Minor Character Death, a little tidbit about how pearl came to be who she is and how she met rose, also kindergartens, as well as other gems, it's only one scentence, pearls are mass produced, really glossed over
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 21:39:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4538358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marauding_bagel/pseuds/marauding_bagel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearls are replaceable. (She is not special; she is just a pearl, not Pearl.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pearl, not pearl.

She was meant to be replaceable. Interchangeable. It wasn't supposed to hurt when she got a new assignment, when she had to leave. Pearls are, were, not meant to build relationships. They are meant to be mindless, following orders and completing tasks. 

(Not stupid, no. They needed to be intelligent so they could complete their tasks with the most efficiency possible. They just couldn't be allowed their own thoughts nor opinions.) 

She had a number and a label. She was not an individual and she needed to remember that. (Later she would need to forget that.) She was not Peal capitol P but a peal. Pearl287-W-I. One of the last naturally occurring pearls on Homeworld, born too early to be destroyed for her defect but too late to anything more than just another pearl. 

Those present at her harvesting overlooked it; her pearl wasn't too much of an oval and with so many more to be recorded they didn't notice. But a Topaz is no Pearl. She noticed there was something different from her sisters and herself. She saw them moving more stiffly, with less grace and more accuracy. The Pearls around her did not dance as they walked but held themselves with a purpose that She seemed to lack. Her sisters never bothered with pleasantries and always cut to the chase. Their voices were monotone and cold, stating things simply and giving no emotion. She looked around her in wonder but found a world in which She could not be a single entity. (But we get ahead of ourselves.) 

Upon emerging from the salty waters She formed in The Pearl found herself being ushered towards the shore. Others around Her were wading calmly though the tide, their thin forms moving with little resistance. When She followed them She found herself in a line overshadowed by the forms around her looking straight ahead of them patient and unquestioning. The back of Her hand itched. The line moved forward pearl by pearl. The one time She attempted to look beyond those in front of her She was met with the curt rebuke of the nearest Topaz. 

When her turn at the front came She was sat on a plain stool and her gem measured by a sturdy little Topaz with a soft green tint. The gem moved slowly taking her time to do her work. When she was done she handed a slip to the pearl and before She could blink another pearl was sitting on her stool leaving Her splayed out on the floor. The bigger pearl sneered at her as the green gem tsked at her and told Her to hurry. The pearl hurried away, Her face a few shades more blue than it had been before. 

Glancing at the slip it simply read "Pearl287-W-I Gate K". She had time to actually take in her surrounding now, the bay that had been her birthplace was enclosed by a large dome with a single shore surrounded by sheer cliffs. Immediately at the shore was a number of lines that led to little stations like the one she had just been at. From there it went up into a building which other the other Pearls were filing into. 

As she approached the building Pearl287 noticed several small entrances rather than the single large one it had appeared to be from a distance. More Topazes were there directing the Pearls with curt orders. She was swept up by the crowd and carried off. Before she realized it she had walked through the gates, into the building and further processed until finally reaching a lecture hall where she would become well acquainted with what it meant to be a Pearl. 

Here she learned that she was a defect. Here she learned that no one must ever know. (Here she learnt that it was impossible. Here she learnt that the success of the first kindergartens meant she was expendable.)

> Pearls are to be whatever are needed of them. (she was never to want of her own place; she had no place. She did not belong.) 
> 
> Pearls were to follow orders without hesitation. She was not to think of plans. She was not to suggest. 
> 
> Pearls did not form connections with other gems. It was not supposed to hurt when she left again and again and again. 
> 
> Pearls are replaceable. (She is not special, she is just a pearl, not Pearl.) 
> 
> Pearls are only good for following orders. No one will ever listen to her. No one will ever ask. (And she never offers.) 

The pearls around Her are taller than her, their gems are perfectly round and while they come in a variety of colors they are all uniform in their shading and luster. They know their purpose is to fulfill the needs of others and they know how to contain information without pondering it. They are her sisters and they are perfect. They were controlled, surgical, precise, and elegant. She is none of these things.

There is another pearl She meets soon after her classes begin. They all sit silently in the lecture hall absorbing the information without question before being sent on their first assignments. While her hands itch with the urge to ask questions (But how do we form? Why are we so similar? How do the engines work exactly? who came up with the design? wouldn't it be better if-?") she keeps them down folded neatly in her lap and absorbs the information she is presented with a hungry need her sisters seem to lack. A few rows below another pearl does not. 

This pearl is a light golden color and seems to shine. Those around her are pale in comparison to this one's beauty. Her hair is long unlike her sisters and she is smaller even than Pearl287 but more slender with narrow shoulders and a fragile feeling about her. This pearl _introduces_ herself. She is Pearl018-G-I and she has questions. She interrupts the lecture with these questions three times in total; if not for the snickers and murmurers each time it would have inspired Pearl287 to ask her own questions. Instead, she clenches her jaw and sits straight back as possible. 

The Fluorite instructing them is not amused. After the third round of rapid fire questions from young Pearl018 the gold gem is called forward. The little pearl smiles and glides down to the podium where Fluorite stands. Her feet barely move and every gem is silent in awe of her grace. When she reaches her destination the little gem twirls in place before her instructor. The pearl besides pearl287 scoffs. The instructor merely smiles back at the little gem before pulling an ax from the gem on her shoulder and cutting through the Pearl018. A collective gasp is heard as the little gem is crushed underfoot. The Instructor moves on to to the subjects of Poofing and Gem Weapons. (If a tear falls on her hands she does not acknowledge it.)

> Pearls are not to summon their weapons for any reason. (She can feel the spear within her being calling to her, it is a part of her but she cannot have it.) 
> 
> Pearls are not to want for anything. (She wants for the slender tool which matches her being and is her being. She wants to dance with water and her spear. She wants to be graceful and fill herself with the knowledge that she is a part of her surroundings. She is not. ) 

After that her sisters know that she is wrong. She is short and she moves with gentleness and grace. Once she is caught humming as she works to build parts for ships that will help to make her useless. It is her first assignment and she is surrounded by her sisters although they pretend not to see her. Everyone is working with such a rhythm that she cannot help but hum along and be a part of it. Her hands dance as they work and for the first time the itching within her stops. But then everything is silent and all her sisters are staring at her as though she were something they had never seen before.

She went back to being silent and the itch returned. It didn't matter because as soon as her shift was over pearl287 was given her next assignment. 

She spends years as personal assistant to a Coral that is quiet and aloof but kind in her own way. Pearl287 files her paperwork and arranges the many meetings Coral has with other higher up gems. She sees other personal assistants and speaks with them sometimes. Many are Pearls that want nothing to do with a defect like her but some great her. 

When one says that Coral is an inferior gem and obsolete she defends her employer. (Isn't her job to serve? Does that not mean to also protect?) She yelled and displayed emotions she should not be capable of. It is unseemly for any gem, and especially a pearl, to devote themselves so fully to another. She does not believe this is right but remains silent in guilt. (Pearls do not think, she reminds herself. it is not the first time she has done this.) 

When they send her away she cries and her coral turns her face in disgust. Pearls are interchangeable. She is nothing special. She does not matter. (She feels like her own being. She has to remember.) That is how her life goes for hundreds of years. A few decades as the efficient yet quirky assistant until she slips up in a big enough way to be dismissed. She tries not to let the sting of departure get to her; she tries not to think of the faces of those she came to care to for. 

A thousand years pass since her birth and Pearl287 is the last natural pearl of Gemkind. Her sisters have crumbled away over time and yet she has not. (Much to the chagrin of her superiors.) The new pearls are all alike in color, shape and size. They do not have appearances unique to them but are all identical. They do not laugh or snicker like her sisters had; they hold no emotions whatsoever. Pearl287-W-I is the last of her kind and she is forgotten. 

She spends her time as the navigator for a small ship tasked with searching out ideal planets for kindergartens. The crew is small, just her and three others. She spends all her time on the bridge and operates everything by hand. No one comments when she hums along to the engines. 

She has the job of a defect. (She has a job no one would want. She loves her job.) 

Pearls did not last. Pearls are meant to be replaceable. She lasts longer than any other because she _endured_.

When they come across the little yellow star she is told to overlook it. There is a promising star cluster on the other side of the quadrant the captain wants to see to. Pearl does not listen but rather sends a probe to inspect the little wisp of light. She finds a planet rich in heavy metals and able to shift their locations. It is violent and unpredictable and the very crust moves with passionate force. The captain gives her a look when she describes it but allows the detour with a sigh. 

When the kindergarten project is green lighted for the little blue planet she found herself requesting a transfer. ("A pearl should never want of anything" echos in her mind but with news of more stable gem being designed her kind is quickly forgotten and overlooked.) 

When she is dropped off at the site she meets with the coordinator, a massive pink gem named Rose Quartz that greets her with warmth in her smile and asks for Pearl's opinion on the project details. Despite herself the little pearl find a passion that has been buried deep within her reawaken. 

She became Pearl on a little blue planet with savage waves, harsh winds, and soft grass. She became a knight and a tactician. She stopped being a pearl and became so much more.

**Author's Note:**

> I did quite a bit a research when writing this little ficlet. Natural pearls tend to be very small and not necessarily perfectly round which is why Pearl and the gold pearl (a color that naturally occurring pearls can sometimes, albeit rarely, be) are smaller than the others. 
> 
> also in 287-W-I the W stands for white and the I is a marker of iridescence.
> 
> I had planned to do more with fic but i quite like how it turned out so i may leave it or dive further into the life of Pearl before meeting Rose. we'll just have to wait and see. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, please tell me what you liked and didn't like in the comments down below so I can bring you more content in the future! Bye!


End file.
